Japan and the United States have failed to reach agreement over the details of their plans to redeploy some of the 50,000 US troops on Japanese soil. Last year the two countries agreed in principle a number of measures including moving several thousand US troops off the island of Okinawa. It is part of a worldwide realignment of US forces. But arguments remain over who should foot the bill and the latest round of negotiations has ended in failure. Washington's chief negotiator, Richard Lawless, told reporters that two days of talks had finished with several points of contention still to be worked out. Earlier, Japanese officials had said there were no major disagreements with the Americans. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk

Iran's president said on Friday that the existence of the "Zionist regime," Iran's term for Israel, was a threat to the Islamic world, days after declaring Iran had become a nuclear power by enriching uranium. But the tone of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech to a conference on the Palestinian issue was slightly more moderate than fiery rhetoric last year, when Iran's official IRNA news agency quoted him as telling a conference: "Israel must be wiped off the map.""The existence of the Zionist regime is tantamount to an imposition of an unending and unrestrained threat so that none of the nations and Islamic countries of the region and beyond can feel secure from its threat," Ahmadinejad said on Friday.He said it was up to all "genuine Palestinians" - whether, Muslim, Christian or Jew residing in Palestine or the diaspora -- to hold a referendum and decide on a political system....http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060414/ts_nm/iran_israel_dc

An Egyptian man was killed and five others were injured when an assailant armed with a knife attacked worshippers at two Coptic churches in the northern city of Alexandria, the Interior Ministry said. Mahmoud Salah Eddin Abdel Razzak Hussein, a 28-year-old pastry-shop worker, was arrested as he entered a third church in the city, the ministry said in an e-mailed statement. The attacks took place at the Saint George Church and the Saints Church, the ministry said. The dead man was 78 and those who were hurt are 17, 42 and 43, the state-run Middle East News Agency said. Hussein, who is Muslim, entered one of the churches on a previous occasion and insulted worshippers, MENA said. ...http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aMublLp6Ru3k&refer=home

An 87-year-old woman who fled 30 years ago before she could be sentenced for killing a 13-year-old boy was arrested at her apartment, authorities said.Maria Josefa Otero spent time in Guatemala and Puerto Rico before returning to Miami 15 years ago, police said. Someone called a tip line recently and alerted authorities that Otero was living in Miami under her maiden name, Maria Josefa Viera, said Detective Andy Arostegui. She was arrested Wednesday, authorities said.The boy's parents said they found out by watching the news."My wife was yelling, 'They caught her! They caught her! Maria Otero! Maria Otero!"' said his father, Juan Perez. "I thought that book closed long ago."Otero was found guilty of second-degree murder in 1976 for the shooting death of Johnny Perez. A judge released her on $50,000 bond to get her personal affairs in order before sentencing....http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/04/14/fugitive.captured.ap/index.html?section=cnn_us

Chad's government has announced it has cut off diplomatic relations with Sudan after repelling a rebel attack on the capital, N'Djamena, on Thursday. Sudan denies Chad's accusations that it backs the United Force for Change rebels, who were beaten back by Chadian troops after launching a dawn raid. Chad warns it might expel refugees who fled conflict in Sudan's Darfur region. On Friday, Chad paraded 160 captives, said to be rebels, in a public square while crowds and soldiers looked on. "We have taken the decision to break our diplomatic relations with Sudan today and to proceed to close our frontiers," Chadian President Idriss Deby told a rally in N'Djamena....http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4909650.stm

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's hopes of overturning his election loss were dashed on Friday when it emerged there were not enough disputed ballot papers to swing victory back from his rival, Romano Prodi.Berlusconi refused to concede after the center-left opposition won a razor-thin majority in the April 9-10 election, demanding a check of "disputed" ballots -- papers on which the voting intention was deemed unclear by scrutineers.But after four days of political stalemate, the Interior Ministry said the number of ballots in question for the lower house of parliament was 2,131, not enough to overturn Prodi's 24,000-vote majority.The ministry said in a statement it had made a mistake when it initially estimated there were 43,028 disputed ballots....http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/04/14/italy.elections.reut/index.html?section=cnn_world